Prevalence of Chronic Energy Deficiency and its Socio-Demographic Correlates among Ethnic Adult Population of Punjab, India

Introduction: Chronic Energy Deficiency is a condition characterized by a long-term insufficient intake of calories and/or nutrients relative to a person’s energy expenditure, leading to a negative energy balance. It is typically associated with inadequate nutrition and can result in various health issues.Objectives: 1) To find out prevalence of CED in ethnic Punjabi population. 2) To determine the sociodemographic factors affecting CED the study subjects.Materials & Methods: The study was a cross sectional study using simple random sampling technique. Taking the prevalence of CED as 30%, sample size came out to be 336, but for ease of convenience, 400 subjects were selected.Results: The study subjects comprised of 183 males and 217 females and there were 24 cases of CED in males and 52 in females. Maximum cases of CED were found in the age group of 20-29 years, in lower castes and low-income groups and in illiterates.Conclusion: According to this study, maximum number of CED was found in the age group of 20-29 years.Prevalence was significantly higher in females than males and its was maximum in lower castes at 35.8%. In lower income group and in the illiterate group, it was maximum and the results were statistically significant.